Vanguard Group created a new advice and wealth management division and hired an outsider from Fidelity Investments to run it.
Joanna Rotenberg, who was most recently president at Fidelity's personal investing unit, will join Vanguard in January to lead the new business, the firm said in a statement Monday. She has also held senior roles at BMO Financial and McKinsey.
It's one of the first big hires by Chief Executive Officer Salim Ramji, who joined Vanguard from BlackRock in May as Vanguard's first top boss not to rise through its ranks.
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Alongside Rotenberg's appointment, Ramji also announced a series of leadership changes across the business, which included hiring another newcomer, Jon Couture, who's joining from Principal Financial to become chief HR officer.
Vanguard, which managed $9.9 trillion of assets as of Oct. 31, has traditionally relied on long-tenured in-house talent to fill senior roles. The latest move by Ramji may signify a change of direction for the world's second-largest asset manager. He said in a statement that Rotenberg will help the firm "further democratize" its advice and wealth management offerings.
Last week, Vanguard said that veteran Karin Risi, who was head of strategy, product, marketing and communications, would retire at year end. Instead of replacing her, the firm is splitting her responsibilities across several people in her group, according to a person familiar with the matter.
